Guided projectile toy



2,860,152 1 Patented Nov.. 18, 1958,

GUIDED PROJECTILE TOY William Blackadder, Blackpool, England, assignor to Sunnytoys (Distributors) Limited, Blackpool, England, a company incorporated of Great Britain Application April 12, 1957, Serial No. 652,563

Claims priority, application Great Britain November 30, 1956 2 Claims. (Cl. 12421) This invention relates to toys, and more particularly to a toy to be operated by-a child, or by a bird in a bird cage.

According to the invention a toy comprises an impeller rockable about a fixed axis to and from a stop determining the inactive position thereof, said impeller having a head to engage an object to be impelled from a datum position thereof, an actuating lever rockable about a fixed axis, resilient means connecting the impeller and the lever and tendingto urge the impeller against said stop, and a trip member biased towards a nose on the lever, said trip member being movable with the actuating lever and rockable relative thereto about an axis movable in a path concentric with the axis about which the lever is rockable, whereby on rocking of the lever from the starting position thereof said trip member is movable first into engagement with a shoulder on the impeller thereby to rock the impeller away from said stop and to tension said resilient means, and then past the shoulder to permit the tensioned resilient means quickly to return the impeller to the stop and to permit the head to impel the object, from the datum position thereof.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood, an embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

Figures 1 to 3 illustrate, partly in section, a toy according to the invention and the mode of operation thereof, and

Figure 4 illustrates, partly in section, a modification to the toy of Figures 1 to 3.

Referring to Figure l of the drawings, the toy, which is shown in its initial rest position, has a U-shaped support 1 which includes side walls extending from a base 13, and an impeller 2 which includes head 3 rockably mounted about the axis of a pivot pin 4 carried by the side walls of the support 1. A projection 5 on the impeller co-operates with a stop 6, referred to in the appended claims as a second stop, extending upwards from the base 13 of the support 1. An actuating lever 7 is rockably mounted about the axis of a pivot pin 8 also carried by the side walls of the support 1. The axes of pins 4 and 8 are located in a single plane parallel to the base 13 of the support. Resilient means, shown as an elastic band 9, is connected to oppositely disposed hooks 10 and 11 which are respectively formed on the impeller 2 and the actuating lever 7. A nose 12 on the actuating lever 7 abuts against the base 13 of the support 1, and the lever 7 is maintained in the position shown in Figure 1 by the action of the elastic band 9 which also acts normally to maintain the projection 5 in abutment against the stop 6. A trip member 14 is rockable about the axis of a pivot 15 located in a groove formed in the actuating lever 7, the axis for pivot 15 being movable with the lever 7 in a path concentric with the axis about which the lever 7 is rockable. The trip member 14 is biased towards the nose 12 so as to gravitate to the nose or to be urged towards the nose by a light" spring 16.

The trip member 14 is disposed to engage in a shoulder 17 on the impeller 2 and radial to the axis of rotation thereof. On rocking of lever 7, clockwise as viewed in Figure 2, the trip member 14 is caused to engage the shoulder 17 on the impeller 2 and rock the impeller,

counterclockwise as viewed in Figure 2, about the pivot 8 thereby to effect tensioning of the elastic band 9.

A ball 19 to be impelled is movable relative to guide means shown as a rod 18 extending from and supported-- by a stop 27 carried by the base 13. The ball 19 rests on the head 3 of the impeller when the impeller is in the starting position, see Figure 1.

The operation of the toy will now be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings.

In Figure 1, as stated above, the toy is shown in its initial rest position with the impeller 2 and actuatinglever 7 both in the starting position thereof and with the ball 19 resting on the head 3, that is to say the ball is retained by the head 3 in spaced relation with the stop 27. The lever 7 has an operating handle 20, and when the handle 20 is displaced clockwise as indicated by arrow A, Figure 1, by a force acting thereon, the pivot 15 of the trip member 14 moves in a path concentric to the pivot 8 of the lever and the point of the trip member 14 traces the locus shown as line 21, so that it first engages the shoulder 17 on the impeller 2. Continued rocking of the lever 7' in the direction of arrow A, causes the elastic band 9 to be tensioned owing to the rocking of the impeller counterclockwise about pin 4. As this movement continues the movement of the head 3 permits the ball 19 to engage the stop 27, Figure 2, and then the head disengages from the ball, after which the trip member 14 is moved past the shoulder 17, Figure 3, and the tension in the elastic band 9 causes the impeller quickly to move clockwise to the starting position thereof so that the head 3 strikes the underside of the ball 19 and impels it away from the stop 27 axially along the rod 18. The rod 18 is either sutficiently long to prevent the ball from being projected off its end, or it is provided with a stop, not shown, to limit the movement of the ball along the rod.

When the force is removed from the handle 20, the elastic band 9, which is still partly tensioned as the result of the clockwise movement of lever 7 causes the lever 7 to rock about its pivot pin 8 and to return to its initial position in which the nose 12 abuts the base 13. The trip member 14 engages with the back of the shoulder 17 and moves relative to the lever 7 about the pivot 15 against he action of its biasing force. As the locus of the point of the trip member 14 about its pivot 15 is the line 22, Figure l, which does not intersect the impeller 2 when the impeller is in its starting position, during the return movement of the lever 7, the trip member moves past the shoulder 17 and, owing to its biasing force returns to the position shown in Figure l in which it abuts the nose 12.

The mechanism would normally be disposed in a position such that the ball 19 returns to its initial position resting on the hammer arm 3 by the action of gravitational forces, and if the mechanism is disposed so that the rod is substantially vertical the trip member 14 will reset by the action of gravity, in which event, it will be understood, the biasing spring 16 will not be necessary.

Referring to Figure 4 of the drawings, a spiral groove 23 may extend around the rod 18, and the ball 19 may have a pin 24 projecting therefrom to engage in the groove 23 so that the ball spins round the rod as it is projected axially of the rod.

A particular application of the toy is for operation by.

a child, or by a bird in a bird cage. In the latter case, the handle 20 would be constructed as a projecting perch. The integers of the mechanism may be separately molded from any suitable industrial plastics material.

The toy may, if'desired, be constructed without the rod 18, and an object to be impelled such as a ball or other toy may be rested on a cup-like guide means supported by the stop 27 to locate the object relative to head3, the cup-like guide means being suitably slotted for co-operation with the head 3 so that the head, during clockwise movement thereof is permitted to enter the guide means and impel the object away from its position as defined by the stop 27.

It will be understood that, if desired, the elastic band 9 may be replaced by a spring.

I claim:

1. A toy comprising a support which includes side walls extending from a base, a guide means extending from and supported by a stop carried by the base, an object movable relative to the guide means into and out of engagement with said stop, an impeller rockable about the axis of a pivot pin carried by said walls, said impeller including a head movable by rocking movement of the impeller in one direction from a starting position thereof in which said head engages said object and supports it in spaced relation with said stop, a projection engageable with a second stop when the impeller is in the starting position thereof, and a shoulder radial to the axis of rotation of the impeller, an actuating lever rockable'about the axis of a second pivot pin carried by said walls, resilient means connecting said impeller and actuating lever and tending to urge said projection towards said second stop and to retain the actuating lever and the impeller in the starting positions thereof, a nose on said actuating lever and a trip member movable with and relative to the actuating lever about an axis movable in a path concentric with the axis of rotation of the actuating lever and biased towards said nose, said trip member being so disposed that on rocking of the actuating lever from the starting position thereof the trip member is movable thereby first to engage said shoulder and effect rocking of the impeller away from the starting position thereof thereby to permit said object to rest against said first mentioned stop and to tension said resilient means and then past the shoulder to permit the tensioned resilient means quickly to restore the impeller to the starting position thereof and to impel said object away from said first-mentioned stop.

2. A toy according to claim 1, wherein the resilient means is an elastic band engaging between hooks formed on the impeller and the actuating lever.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,367,559 Neukirchen Feb. 8, 1921 2,476,212 Nitz et al. July 12, 1949 2,799,587 Schwartz July 16, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 825,519 Germany Dec. 20, 1951 

